Reward Minerals Ltd (ASX:RWD) is set to acquire the Beyondie Potash Plant in Western Australia for $2.13 million (excluding GST), a price that represents just a “small fraction” of the replacement cost.
A “potentially transformative” acquisition
Reward CEO Lorry Hughes said: “Reward is delighted to announce this strategic, low-cost and potentially transformative proposed acquisition that reinforces the company’s commitment to pursuing opportunities which exist for recovery of potassium sulphate (potash, SOP or K2SO4) from Western Australian solar salt operations."
The acquisition puts Reward in a position to update the engineering scoping study for its Carnarvon Potash project, assuming use of the newly acquired plant components which include administration and operations offices and minor associated infrastructure.
The Beyondie Potash Project in 2023 when operated by Kalium.
The transaction comprises a fully constructed processing plant, site offices and maintenance infrastructure.
Specific plant components include a KTMS crushing circuit, Kainite conversion circuit, column flotation circuit, liquor cooling heat exchangers, evaporative cooling circuit, product separation centrifuges, SOP recovery and granulation units, RO water plant and a bulk storage shed.
Reward will acquire the plant via an agreement with executive director and major shareholder, Dr Michael Ruane, who recently purchased the assets from PVT Sales Pty Ltd (an entity associated with Pickles Auctioneers), which had previously purchased the assets from the receivers of Kalium.
“Reward aspires to use its technologies and experience in combination with components of the Beyondie Plant to establish a new facility at significantly reduced capital cost relative to that indicated in Reward’s September 2023 engineering scoping study (ESS) for its Carnarvon Potash Project," Hughes said.
“The 2023 ESS demonstrated that a technically sound and commercially attractive operation could be established utilising the Reward process and reject brines (bitterns) from typical seawater solar salt operations that exist at several established or proposed development sites in northwest Western Australia between Shark Bay and Port Hedland.
“The established salt operations have been operating continuously for up to 50 years using seawater as feed brine. If Reward can establish a SOP operation in partnership with one of these operations, we believe it will change the landscape of the SOP industry in Australia.
“Reward’s ESS considered nominal production of 100,000 tonnes per annum standard SOP (>52% K2O) and generated estimated operating costs of $273 per tonne SOP (excluding contingency of $27.3/t SOP) which is FOB ex. Geraldton Port in Western Australia.
Operating costs "cheapest in the world"
“These operating costs are estimated to be amongst the cheapest in the world. Specific components from the plant acquisition and capital cost estimates for the relocation of them to the Carnarvon Potash Project, or any other more suitable site identified, will be included in an ESS update, with planning for this to commence shortly.
“The use of alternative new processing technologies which are currently under development by Reward will also be included in the ESS update to determine which process and potassium sulphate product is the most attractive to produce.
"There is obvious potential to advance the ESS update and/or feasibility studies in partnership with a salt producer or development company.
“The Beyondie plant acquisition is another key step toward commercialisation of Reward’s processing technology IP that has the potential to transform the SOP industry in our view.”
The Beyondie SOP plant site in relation to the location of Reward’s Carnarvon Potash Project and Western Australian Salt operations and development projects. All the salt projects shown are potential sites for SOP production using waste brines.
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